Biography 

“When art is in your soul, you simply cannot breathe unless you are painting. There are few things I'd rather do than paint.”

Mary Farmer's every breath reflects that of an accomplished, seasoned artist. Following in the footsteps of such renowned painters as Jasper Johns, she chose the unique medium of encaustic painting to express herself artistically to the world. Her pieces explore a wide range of content, possibilities and personal history. Using one of the most innovative methods of painting, Farmer melts beeswax and colored pigments and then applies the hot mixture to a prepared panel. She labors through hours of sculpting and layering to build vibrant images into masterful works of art.

When asked, “At what point did you decide to make art” Farmer replies, “My father was a very creative guy. He could design and build anything; I had the coolest playhouse on the block! We had an outdoor kitchen before it was ‘the’ thing. As a young woman, I made things all the time: Barbie doll clothing, special occasion cards, small treasures and symbolic altars. About 20 years ago I started drawing and drawing and drawing, shortly thereafter I learned how use oil paint and then I could/would not stop. My art making genie woke up and insisted on being heard and expressed.”

Unique to other artists that employ the encaustic method, Farmer often uses watercolor in her process. This unconventional technique provides a beautiful, dreamy “under painting” for her layering effects. She also mixes her own pigments, incorporates handmade paper, raw pigment, graphite, and oil stick within the many layers of her paintings. Farmer is a popular teacher; she teaches both novice and experienced encaustic artists on various aspects of encaustic technique.

Farmer's raw talent, combined with her continuing dedication to creating new and impressive works, is reflected in her rising status in the encaustic community. Her work has been featured in such publications as American Art Collector, Novato Advance, Embracing Encaustic, The Peoria Star Journal, and the Marin Independent Journal. Farmer constantly strives to grow as an artist, seeing new images in her mind that she deems transferable to her canvas.

Farmer's work is included in the collections of MCI World Communications, Atlanta Gas Light, World Marriott Orlando, University of Texas, a major pharmaceutical corporation and the Atlanta College of Art, amongst other important private collections throughout the country. She has participated in juried exhibitions in Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Prescott, Arizona, and Laredo, Texas, etc. Farmer was the proud recipient of the Atlanta College of Art's Presidential Scholarship. She won an award at the 10th International Juried Exhibition at The Laredo Center for the Arts and another at The Postcard Show at Lincoln Center in New York.

Farmer has been featured in group shows including the “Encaustic Invitational” in Tucson in 2006, the “Annual Juried Exhibition of Marin Artists” in San Rafael in 2004, the National Juried Exhibition in San Francisco in 2003 and the “Expression Without Limitation,” Open Studio Show in Atlanta in 2000.

“My mind is most at ease when I am painting. The preparation of the panels, the application of paint, observing the changes of each piece as I proceed...these are all very, very satisfying,” says Farmer.

Farmer obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Georgia State University after beginning her degree program at the Atlanta College of Art. She has completed several encaustic workshops and certificate programs in New York and San Francisco. Farmer's work was featured in the curated, invitational exhibition 225º F, Encaustic Encounters at the Turchin Center for the Arts in Boone, NC. “The exhibition explored naturalistic themes from the work of exceptional encaustic artists who challenge the established traditions of the media by expressing innovation in the utilization of encaustic techniques.”

She is an affiliate and founding member of International Encaustic Artists (IEA). Select members of this group including Farmer participated in a show at the Las Vegas Contemporary Art Center, at Cain Schulte Contemporary Art in San Francisco, and she participated in the Diptych Project that pairs an IEA artist with a NEW (New England Wax) artist. This affiliation has Farmer participating in exhibitions that bring this work to a vast number of encaustic art devotees and to those unfamiliar with the medium but who are immediately curious about it when they encounter it.

Mary Farmer lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and has a studio dedicated to support a constant flow of her creative juices. Mary and her husband, Michael, travel often to new and exotic places - “We both have a touch of gypsy in our soul” - she has a particular affinity for New York, Paris, Portland (both), and New Zealand. She attended the Havana Biennale in March 2006. They have traveled to hike the Italian Alps, the West Coast of Ireland, and much of New Zealand's South Island. She spent a month covering the continent of South America, visited Italy, France, Germany, Spain and England to ramble through galleries and museums, taking in as much art as possible, this is a favorite endeavor. Farmer's visit to Morocco and her hike in and out of the Grand Canyon inspired her Topographies.